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Liala Helal
Minneapolis

U of M building safe after report of propane smell, evacuation

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Firefighters evacuated roughly 100 people from a University of Minnesota building after a report of a propane smell, but later found no propane or other threat, according to University of Minnesota spokesman Steve Henneberry.

Emergency responders were not able to find the source of the alleged propane smell. Around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, someone reportedly smelled propane on the third floor of Smith Hall, pulled the fire alarm, and called police, Henneberry said. The Minneapolis Fire Department and the University of Minnesota Police responded.

• Previously: U of M chemistry lab explosion injures one

Firefighters searched the building and re-opened it at about 9:40 a.m. A fire crew and personnel from the University's Department of Environmental Health and Safety went through the building to double check that it was safe.

The majority of Smith Hall houses the school's chemistry department. The third floor includes classrooms and chemistry labs, Henneberry said. The building also houses a printing services department and glass technology services.

"[Officials] will continue to see if they can talk to some folks who were in the building to determine what exactly the chemical was, but at this point they have not been able to determine what exactly the smell was coming from," Henneberry said.

About a week ago in the same building, a chemistry student was injured when a chemical compound mixture exploded.

The two incidents are not connected, Henneberry said, "aside from being in the same place."

Bryan Tyner, district chief of the Minneapolis Fire Department's fifth district, said Smith Hall has a good ventilation system since it's a chemistry building, and if there was propane or natural gas, the ventilation machinery helps get it out.

He said it's not uncommon for firefighters to arrive to a call like this and find no gas.

"Sometimes people smell it, and by the time we get there, if it was a very small amount, it may have already dissipated or ventilated itself out of the building," Tyner said. "It would pretty much have to be continuously leaking in order for us to find it — otherwise it's pretty much going to dissipate on its own."